Chuluota, the Eagle is Proudly Displayed in City Hall

The word Chuluota has several meanings "Isle of Pines," or "Pine Island," or "Land of Lakes and Pines" or "beautiful place," depending upon whom you ask. The pronunciation is a derivative of the Creek Indian word “Chuluoto.” Here at City Hall, Chuluota is the given name to a public art piece donated by a local mixed-media artist named Ron Wallace.

Ron Wallace is a proud Palm Coast resident, award-winning sculptor, painter, and mixed-media artist who uses primarily organic materials in all of his work. Ron is inspired by nature and mostly, by creatures of the sea.

Wallace states, “My art work is something that gives me a place to go and focus on nothing else, but what I am working on at the time. I was a scuba diver for 35 years, diving old wrecks up and down the east coast and around the world. Those years left a big impression on the sights and critters I have seen, and try to create my vision of them. My eagle was the first piece to even impress me on how he turned out. I think that is why I wanted to share it with lots of people and hope most would feel the same. What better place than City Hall!”

Chuluota the eagle is a combination of welded steel, palm tree prawns, epoxy, paint and glue. He sits upon a natural driftwood pedestal that was found in the canals of Palm Coast. This beautiful sculpture took approximately three weeks to complete.

Chuluota is currently located in the City Hall building hallway outside of the Community Development Department. Visitors are welcome during normal office hours. You can find more of his collection at Ron Wallace Studios or local art shows. His next exhibit will be featured at the 11^th Annual Old Town Art Show in downtown Saint Augustine at Francis Field on April 9^th and 10^th.

Palm Coast is fortunate to have numerous arts organizations and local artists flourishing in the city. There is a variety of Public Art pieces on display all across the City of Palm Coast and can be found at palmcoastgov.com/artsdistrict.